The state Senate Appropriations Committee recently advanced legislation that would establish an Independent Energy Office.
Under Senate Bill 832, the office would be modeled after the state’s Independent Fiscal Office. As such, it would not support or oppose any policy it would analyze, and it would be required to disclose its methodologies, data sources and assumptions in published reports and estimates.
Pennsylvania is second largest state for electricity generation from nuclear power, the second largest coal exporter to foreign markets, and the third largest coal producer, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration analysis conducted in 2022.
In addition, marketed natural gas production reached a record 7.6 trillion cubic feet in 2021, primarily from the Marcellus Shale.
More than half of households use natural gas as the primary heating fuel.
“Pennsylvania has one of the most diverse energy portfolios in the United States,” state Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Bradford), who sponsored the bill, said. “There is no question we can capitalize on our state’s energy richness, but first we must stop apologizing for it. I believe an Independent Energy Office can provide impartial, timely, and data driven analysis to guide our state in determining and meeting future energy needs.”
The bill moves to the full Senate for consideration.